Court upholds reinstatement of murder conviction for Adnan Syed, orders new hearing

Adnan Syed and his mother, Shamim Rahman, speak with reporters as they arrive at Maryland’s Supreme Court in Annapolis last year. A 2022 court hearing that freed Adnan Syed from prison violated the legal rights of the victim’s family and must be redone, Maryland’s Supreme Court ruled Friday, marking the latest development in the ongoing legal saga that gained global attention years ago through the hit podcast “Serial.” The 4-3 ruling means Syed’s murder conviction remains reinstated for the foreseeable future. The court ruled that Young Lee was not treated with “dignity, respect, and sensitivity,” as required under Maryland law, because he wasn’t given reasonable notice of the hearing that freed Syed. David Sanford, an attorney who represents the victim’s family, said the ruling “acknowledges what Hae Min Lee’s family has argued: Crime victims have a right to be heard in court.” Erica Suter, Syed’s attorney, said in a statement that the court reached a decision “we could not disagree with more.” “Wrongful convictions devastate the wrongly accused, their family, and the family of the victim,” Suter said. Syed appealed his conviction’s reinstatement, and the Lee family also appealed to the state’s highest court, contending that crime victims should be given a larger role in the process of vacating a conviction.